Carve up of Girdwood site in Belfast reflects the sectarian carve-up

The sectarian row over the former Girdwood army barracks site in North Belfast is part of a larger picture of sectarianism and segregation forming the bedrock of the status-quo, with our local political class depending on it for their very political survival.

In a recent report, Trademark, the Belfast-based social justice co- operative affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, "Sectarianism still remains a serious problem in Northern Ireland." The group conducted a major survey with more than 40 interviews in private sector companies and surveyed 2,500 workers in a large retail company as part of its study. It found that "low-level but persistent sectarian harassment is a feature of too many workplaces in Northern Ireland".

Trademark says "the segregated nature of Northern Ireland" ensures the continuation of workplace cultures that are "partisan" to the majority workforce, whether that is Catholic or Protestant. It also finds that tensions outside of the workplace have "a direct impact on relations internally".

The study suggests there remains a very real danger that sectarian tensions in a workplace could, if not dealt with properly, "escalate to serious threats and intimidation".

Indeed since the signing the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998 the number of interfaces or ‘peace lines’ have increased from 22 to 88 by some estimates. While trade unions have campaigned for and strengthened existing legislation against sectarian discrimination such as the Fair Employment Act, such laws have also helped to institutionalise sectarianism, favouring lobbying and collective grievances based on religion over social class and direct action.

This is reflected in the political discourse of ‘equality’ and ‘parity of esteem’ where sectarianism and conflict is perpetrated under the disguise of the ‘right to cultural expression,' that is used as a political bargaining weapon against the 'other' community.

This only results in long standing assumptions, myths and reactionary agendas being unchallenged and un-opposed such as the Queen’s Diamond celebrations in Belfast. As part of the cross-party deal commemorating a range of events, including an equal allocation of funds and ‘equality’; all parties including Sinn Fein had to endorse the shining of a beacon over Cavehill (symbolic birth place of the United Irishmen). This has now been scrapped due to public opposition.

Only this week, we have witnessed another sectarian carveup to suit electoral needs over the contentious former Girdwood army barracks site in North Belfast where a long standing principle of housing provision based on need being replaced by a sectarian headcount and segregation with two separate 'housing zones' endorsed by all the local parties. This marks a u-turn after six years of failing to reach an agreement despite the fact that over 90% of those waiting on the housing list in North Belfast is of a 'nationalist' persuasion. On the one hand we have politicians doing what they do best which is the whipping up of fear and division and on the other is every principle being sold down to the river in the quest for political expendiency- power and patronage.

What is clear is that over forty years from the birth of civil rights movement in which the struggle for fair allocation of housing was a key demand, the politics of sectarianism, discrimination is above that of 'building a shared future'. While sections of mainstream media get dragged along in this game of smoke, guns and mirrors with the power squabbles on the hill, real opposition to this charade needs to be built in our communities and workplaces.’

The fight against sectarianism, racism, homophobia and sexism, cannot be divorced from the fight against capitalism and the state. In the short-term we need to campaign for integrated housing and schools, the removal of flags and offensive emblems. Not only is sectarianism deeply rooted in our society, but Stormont rests on it for its very survival and is part of problem rather than the solution.

There is little doubt that it is about them and us. Us the working class against the ruling class whether in the halls of Stormont or riches of Westminster and the capitalist system they uphold.

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Roughly 1,000 people protested at the Dail (parliament building) in Dublin Wednesday night as yet another austerity budget was debated. As with previous budgets the new flat rate taxes, PRSI & excise hikes will mean workers & those on low income will be hit hard while the richest 1% will hardly notice any difference.

€1,600 billion. That is the figure for Irish Oil & Gas reserves already licensed revealed this morning in a detailed report from Shell to Sea using the energy corporations own reports and estimates. People in Ireland will see almost no benefits from this incredible wealth because the Irish state gives these reserves to the corporations at the cheapest terms in the world.

David Cameron plans to end housing benefit for claimants aged 16-24. The ‘proposal’ forms part of wider recommendations to begin being implemented next year as part of the new Welfare Act. Further plans being rolled out including linking regional play with regional benefits, breaking the link between benefits and inflation, and considering linking benefits to average earnings and cost of living amounting to a further attack on worker’s rights and conditions.

Wednesday the European Central Bank (ECB) gave out 530 billion euros in 3-year term loans to the private banks of the Eurozone. Together with the 490 billion they doled out last December, that's over 1 trillion euros. If pigs could fly and politicians never lied and every household in the country was magically able to pay the hated Household Tax, the total receipt would be 160 million euro. At that rate, it would take 6,250 years to amount to 1 trillion. It would also take 20 years to amount to the 3.2 billion euros the state are handing over to the Anglo bondholders on the 31st March coming.

Dublin last weekend saw about 400 people take part in a demonstration against the intention of Seán Sherlock, the Labour Party Minister for Research and Innovation to bring into law a requirement for Irish internet service providers to block access to sites that allow the downloading of copy righted material. This is a similar law to the SOPA and ACTA laws that Hollywood & music industry lobbyists tried unsuccessfully to force through the US Congress. A second demonstration is to take place this Saturday.

The attack on workers at the Davenport Hotel in Dublin had highlighted the greed and bullying in the hotel business. A similar case to that at the Davenport has come to light here in Cork. But so far fear has ruled the day. The Clarion describes itself as one of “Cork’s premier 4 Star City Centre Hotels”. Although it’s well able to charge for its rooms it cannot find its way to granting its workers a 29 cents per hour pay rise.

Despite the escalating costs for the working class of the crisis in Ireland resistance has fallen off ever since the pro partnership leadership of the unions succeeded in getting the Croke park deal passed by the membership. The deal makes vague promises not to impose further pay cuts on the public sector in return for large scale restructuring but was conditional on the economic situation not declining further. Yesterday saw the unions return to the streets with a press call that the left, including the anarchist movement, tried to push into a demonstration. That morning in a rather unusual individual action a man parked a slogan covered cement lorry in the gates of the Dail (parliament building) blocking access. These articles from the WSM site report on these events and include the speech delivered by a WSM member at the protest.

The "Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2013", published by the government on Thursday last (23rd May), is a clear attempt to bully public sector workers into voting for the re-hashed terms of the Croke Park II deal emphatically rejected by them just a couple of weeks ago.

In spite of a long and consistent campaign which has been waged against people in relation to the imposition of this unjust and unfair tax on homes, over 650,000 households have not registered with revenue [22.05.2013]. Draconian legislation and the threats of fines has not resulted in people volunteering their information to the revenue.

Early yesterday morning, the leadership of the public sector committee of ICTU emerged from talks with the government claiming they had achieved the best possible outcome from the negotiations. The best possible outcome in question involves extra hours at work, cuts in overtime rates and allowances for unsociable hours, delayed increments and revisions to flexitime arrangements and work-sharing patterns.

We don’t know a lot about the personal life of this son of a small farmer. He was the richest man in Ireland in 2008 with an estimated wealth of €4.7billion and now he is only out of jail because the Judge wants him to help the Irish Resolution Banking Corporation (IRBC) recover some of the €2.8 billion that he owes them. You may never have heard of IRBC but you will know of it’s previous alias: Anglo Irish Bank,winner of the dodgiest bank award in a state where there is stiff competition for that prize. His son is in prison, (plush Training Unit in Mountjoy) serving a sentence for what the Judge called ‘outrageous’ contempt of court as he sought to put money/assets beyond the reach of the bank. His nephew Peter is supposed to be there for the same reason but has gone missing. All we know about Sean – the daddy of the empire is that he’s big into the GAA and he likes to play poker for a few quid with his friends. Along with his love of poker, I would guess that Sean senior fancies the odd western.

On the 31st May, the Irish people will be asked to vote in a referendum on the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union, commonly known as the Fiscal Compact Treaty. The YES side in the campaign argue that this is necessary in order to maintain stability across the EU, and the NO side argue that this treaty represents an enshrinement and continuation of the austerity we have faced since 2008. However, both sides, either through ignorance, cynicism or malice, portray the limitations of people's agency and power as the ticking of a box on a piece of paper.

Putting aside the neo-liberal talk of 'stability' for a moment, it is interesting to examine the crux of the NO campaign's argument. The ULA refers to it as the 'Austerity Treaty' in most of its literature and Sinn Fein have put out posters bearing the words 'Austerity isn't working; Vote NO'. There are a number of reasons why this is tactically inept; but primarily, to put across the idea that the agenda of the ruling class, the agenda of austerity and neo-liberalism, can be halted by ticking a box is the worst possible message to disseminate.